Another Daily Journal: Masking the Unmasked

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

I never wear a face mask while at my desk. Make that almost never. I did this morning — Saturday, January 23, 2021 — while taking that picture. △

And I wore one I’d had at the hospital while taking a picture for “Back from the Hospital: The Masked Minnesotan Rides Again.”

I took that other picture September 2, the day I got back from the hospital. ▷

But I didn’t finish the post I’d taken it for until October 5, 2020.

Taking the picture and getting it ready for posting took maybe 10 minutes, tops. Writing the post took about a month.

Partly because it’s one of those where I talk about the main topic — whatever that is — plus the science, history and occasional weirdness behind the topic. Or around it, as the case may be.

And partly because I’d been really sick. But not from COVID-19. I’d been experiencing an old-fashioned staph/strep/cellulitis infection. (October 5, 2020)

The face mask I’m wearing in today’s photo is from Sauk Centre’s Walmart. And that brings me to one of the two things I was going to talk about today.

The Masked Minnesotan, Unmasked! (or) Common Sense Strikes Again!

This household does much, but not all, of its shopping at the local Walmart.

That could mean we’re witless pawns of Big Store, mindless minions of a megalomaniacal mastermind — or folks living with a limited budget.

I think it’s the ‘limited budget’ thing.

But if the ‘Big Store’ conspiracy theory was right, I’d be a mindless minion: so what would I know?

Oddly enough, I haven’t seen the ‘Walmart will destroy us all’ response to a company offering communities stable employment and affordable products presented as a conspiracy theory. Not that I’ve seen.

Walmart as a dire threat to downtown business, yes. A fear of Walmart destroying businesses by attracting new customers into town identified as a conspiracy theory, no.

Moving on.

I had a few things to pick up in Walmart yesterday, was parked and in the store before I realized that I’d forgotten to bring a face mask along. Dummkopf!

Walmart has a face mask policy — which probably has its own entourage of conspiracy theories, and I’m not going to wade back into that.

Anyway, there I was. No mask. Unwilling to go home, get one and return. Which would have made sense.

Instead, I rearranged my coat into a sort of oversized neck gaiter: went to the employee tasked with watching the entrance and told her this was her chance for telling me to leave.

Instead, she handed me a face mask. The one I’m wearing in this morning’s photo.

So I thanked her, re-rearranged my coat into its normal configuration, put on the face mask and finished my errand.

I figure that free face masks explains a good fraction of the masked Walmart customers. But, since a great many have been wearing other varieties, certainly not all.

I haven’t been keeping track, but it’s been quite a few weeks now that the vast majority of folks in Walmart have been wearing face masks. Which I take as a sign that common sense eventually prevails.

Or maybe it’s proof that the Illuminati-Pixie-Walmart overlords have enslaved us all. By making us wear face masks. No, I do not think so. I really do not think so.

Moving on again.

Dawn of My Daily Journal

John Tenniel's Alice and the Knitting Sheep, Alice Through the Looking-Glass.I’ve had a ‘journal’ category for this blog since October of 2019.

As the category’s description says, ‘journal’ posts are “… more about me, less about (almost) everything else.”

That’s the idea, anyway.

Fast-forward to earlier this month.

The news was, as usual, full of election-themed sound and fury, topped off by their view of the January 6 U.S. Capitol incident.

Meanwhile, some dude’s Ottawa dorm room project had grown into an “underground newspaper” and was reporting that THEY ARRESTED THE POPE!!! The story included the usual trimmings: sex, crime and The Vatican Suppressing The Truth.

And enough folks were taking the guff seriously to warrant a ‘lets get real’ CNA piece.

I talked about that on January 11, 2021:

Maybe repeating the post’s clarifications is in order:

  • Pope Francis wasn’t arrested
  • The Vatican wasn’t blacked out
  • Military officers and/or the FBI haven’t put the Pope in a secret prison

And, seriously: the Illuminati are not really a front for the Leprechaun-Pixie cabal.

There is no Leprechaun-Pixie cabal. Seriously.

Of course, if I was a mindless minion of the Leprechaun-Pixie cabal, disguised as one of the Illuminati disguised as some guy living in central Minnesota — that’s what I would say!!

Which is why I occasionally discuss conspiracy theories, but don’t consistently spend time trying to show that they’re a bit silly. I suspect that no amount of garlic and wooden stakes will stop some conspiracy theories, once they get rolling. And that’s another topic.

Anyway, I had something to say each day after that “The Pope Wasn’t Arrested…” thing.

I’ll soon have done a dozen daily posts. I think this is the eleventh.

What’s Ahead? Good Question

John Tenniel's chessboard landscape for 'Through the Looking-Glass.' (1872)

Some of my entries, like yesterday’s, are probably far from being a normal ‘journal’ post.

But this is my journal.

I’m more likely to talk about current events in the context of natural law and ancient history — and how that affects me — than I am to perorate on the proliferation of pepperoni pizza.

Today’s started out being about yesterday’s ‘mask’ experience and now it’s here.

Tomorrow’s? I’ve no idea where that will go.

A couple more things, and I’ll be getting coffee and start (again) on the next “Faustus” post.

First, if you’re looking for more of these ‘journal’ entries : pick journal from my Categories drop-down menu in the sidebar. You’ll get the usual thing: title link, date posted and the first few dozen words.

Second:

“Jabberwocky”

“‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe….”
(Jabberwocky,” Lewis Carroll (1871) via Wikipedia)

Third, the usual somewhat-related posts:

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Life and Death, Laws and Principles

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

On the whole, I prefer being alive. Particularly when I consider the alternative.

I don’t consistently enjoy the moment I’m in: whatever is “now.” Relishing some of the “nows” I’ve experienced would have been reason for concern, and that’s another topic.

But life, being alive? That’s good. Even when it’s been bad.

Remembering that life can feel good helped me talk myself out of my first suicidal impulse, decades back. So did remembering that I’m very stubborn. I’ve mentioned that before. (January 22, 2019, July 7, 2018)

But that’s not what I’m talking about today.

Awkward

If it was just me thinking that ‘alive’ was better than ‘dead,’ I might have a hard time convincing myself that my preference mattered.

Mattered to anyone other than myself and the folks around me, anyway.

Thing is, it’s not just me.

As a Catholic, I’m expected to see human life as special, sacred, a gift from God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258, 2260)

As if that doesn’t make things awkward, I should also see every human being as a person.

A real person, a neighbor, someone who matters: created in the image of God. Someone I should — must — love. No exceptions. (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 5:43–44, 22:36–40; Mark 12:28–31; Luke 6:31, 10:25–37; Catechism, 1789, 2258, 2260)

As a platitude, ‘love thy neighbor’ seems sufficiently fluffy. Acting as if I think it matters is where it gets hard.

Particularly when doing so means being counter-cultural.

Our Rules, Unchanging Principles

Dick Orkin's Chickenman, opposing crime and/or evil.I drive on the right side of the street and stop at intersections marked with a red octagon: because my culture’s rules say I should.

And because the rules make sense.

Folks in some parts of the world drive on the left side of streets for the same reason.

Minnesota traffic regulations are an example of positive law, rules we make up. And change, when our circumstances change.

Positive law had better change as our societies change, or we’d be stuck with rules that no longer make sense. (Catechism, 1957)

Then there’s natural law: ethical principles written into reality’s source code. Natural law doesn’t change. When positive law reflects natural law, life works better. Ideally, positive law — rules we make up — would reflect natural law. (Catechism, 1950-1974)

When positive law, our rules, doesn’t quite match natural law, we’ve got problems. Which may have inspired Chickenman’s ongoing quest: opposing crime and/or evil. (June 6, 2020)

Homicide, Hammurabi and Motives

Law code of Hammurabi, recorded on a clay tablet.Murder, killing an innocent person, was a bad idea when folks like Ur-Nammu and Hammurabi enforced their law codes.

It still is. Which is why it’s illegal. It was, at any rate, as defined in 2020 Minnesota Statutes Section 609: and probably still is.

What’s changed over the millennia is how murder gets defined. Which depends partly on who is, legally, a person.

I strongly suspect that killing a slave would be at most the equivalent of a misdemeanor in many cultures. Equivalent, maybe, to burning autumn leaves in a smokeless zone.

Happily, my culture outlawed slavery about a century and a half back. We’re still working through issues stemming from that practice, but I think there’s hope that we’ll resolve them. For one thing, slavery is now unfashionable. And that’s yet another topic.

One more thing. Slavery is a bad idea and we shouldn’t do it. Ever. (Catechism, 2414)

But my culture still thinks that killing some innocent folks is okay. Provided that they’re too young or too sick to deserve life. That’s a bad idea. (Catechism, 2270-2275)

Motives for our legal homicides may seem nice.

Slogans like “every child a wanted child” and “death with dignity” may no longer be in vogue, but I’m guessing that the ideas are still in play.

I’m glad to be in a family whose members aren’t likely to kill me because they feel sorry for me. And that’s yet again another topic.

Fitting In: Or Not

Daniel Lewis Lee: killed July 14, 2020My awkward circumstances don’t stop with how I see abortion and euthanasia.

I see all human life a precious, sacred. Even when the human has done something very wrong.

That puts me at odds with a fair fraction of folks who’d reasonably be expected to agree with me over whether or not it’s okay to kill someone who’s too young or too sick to matter.

Maybe my life would be easier, if I ditched my principles and settled into one of my culture’s sociopolitical pigeonholes. Easier, maybe. But I think it would be a bad idea.

I’ve talked about this sort of thing before:

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A Gallimaufry: Politics and Prayer, A Dragon and Turkeys

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

I woke up this morning, which is always a good thing.

My memory tells me that Friday night, January 1, I didn’t sleep. At all. Maybe I dropped off for a few minutes to an hour, but even then I didn’t get nearly enough sleep.

Three weekends and most of a week after my all-nighter, I’m starting my eighth day of one-a-day ‘journal’ posting.

I’ve had insomnia a few times, so Saturday’s mental fog wasn’t surprising.

Neither was Sunday’s. I’m nearly 70, and don’t bounce back the way I did in my youth.

I’ve also been coming down with what may be a cold, making progress with my ‘Marlowe’s Faustus’ and ‘strange new worlds, life, etc.’ series: and noticing that America’s presidential inauguration hasn’t made the sky catch fire.

Not that I expected it would.

Politics and Melodrama, Heroes and Villains: or Making Sense

March 15, 1915: Billy Sunday giving another rip-roaring performance.My social media connections being what they are, denouncements of fascists and heathens have been clogging my feeds.

I suppose that’s inevitable.

My interests are varied. Or unfocused, from another viewpoint. Folks who share my interests but not my lack of political zeal may feel strongly about the depravity of ‘those people’ and demi-divinity of some hero.

Who ‘those people’ are varies. So does the current he-who-can-do-no-wrong. But I see precious little difference in the emotional tone expressed by viciously-virtuous partizans on both/all sides.

I’m not entirely happy about the November election’s outcome. But I’m not overwhelmed by despair. I’d better not be. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 844, 1501, 2091)

One of these days I’ll probably talk about priorities, hope and all that. But not today.

Maybe I could get more attention — maybe even become an influencer — by picking a side in the current political brouhaha and writing like a caffeinated melodrama hero.

That options strikes me as a bad idea on several levels.

Instead, I’ll keep doing what I have been doing. That includes praying.

Prayer: It Couldn’t Hurt

Which brings me to a prayer that I added to my daily routine last year. It’s written for groups, so I changed pronouns like “we” and “our” to “I” and “my” where appropriate.

“Prayer for Our Country

“Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that she may present our country to You. Through her we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the freedom which has been its heritage.

“Grant us peace, and may all citizens respect one another. May the Holy Spirit give our President wisdom to lead our country in ways that are pleasing to You.

“Enlighten our Congress and civic leaders and instill in them knowledge and understanding to enact laws that protect the sanctity of life — from the unborn to the elderly;and promote the good of all people.

“Make all of us aware of our responsibility as citizens to uphold the principles of life, liberty justice and equality.

“Send Your Holy Spirit upon our beloved country. Make us people of faith in time of uncertainty. Make us people of hope in times of trouble. Make us people of compassion with those who are less fortunate. Make us people of peace in our homes, our communities, our country and our world. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

(From a handout at Parishes on the Prairie Area Catholic Community; Our Lady of the Angels, Sauk Centre, Minnesota. (2020))

Responsibility, Life, Liberty, Justice, Equality and All That

A few more points about that prayer.

First: no pressure.

Second: yes, it’s on the long side.

Third, principles — including life, liberty justice and equality — matter.

Fourth, and this one’s important: I’ve been praying for my country’s President, Congress and other civic leaders. And all of us non-bigwigs, too.

I don’t recall ever thinking that calling down a dyspeptic god’s wrath on ‘those sinners over there’ was a good idea. That’s no great virtue. It’s probably due to my having a smidgen of self-awareness, and that’s another topic.

Tuesday, Thursday and Two Turkeys

'We Survived Thanksgiving, Right?' (2016)Political sound and fury aside, this has been a pretty good week for me.

I slept something like 10 hours Tuesday night, and still felt tired Wednesday.

Feeling tired isn’t in my “pretty good” category, getting around 10 hours sleep is.

I did pretty much the same last night, and don’t feel nearly as fogbound today. Experience suggests that I’m getting caught up from the January 1 thing.

Now, about that dragon playing a video game and the two troubled turkeys. I’ve enjoyed making pictures, have been trying to restart that activity — and that’s yet another topic, for another day.

My next “Faustus” post won’t write itself. Which, if that happened, would be disturbing. And yet again another topic.

Hagar the Horrible 'End of Civilization as We Know it.' (February 25, 1973)“Gallimaufry” can mean jumble or medley, has an interesting history —

ENOUGH! Here’s the usual link list, and I’m taking a coffee break:

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Another Wednesday: Reading, Wondering and Writing

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

Wednesday is one of my ‘busy’ days.

Busy, by the standards of some retired guy living in central Minnesota.

Monday was a ‘busy’ day this week, too: thanks to an appointment at the eye clinic Monday morning. My task glasses’ frame needed fixing.

I needed an appointment to get in. They’re open, and dealing with pandemic realities by keeping the doors locked and having folks make appointments for routine and not-so-routine visits.

This afternoon, I plan to be at the Eucharistic Adoration chapel, for my weekly hour.

That makes today ‘busy,’ by my standards, since my weekly hour at the chapel bisects the afternoon.

Afternoons are when I usually get most of my writing done, and any interruption of routine can affect whether, how much, and how long I write. And whether what I write survives the next day’s review.

But I won’t get much of anything done if I keep writing this. So I’ll add my usual related-and-otherwise link list of other stuff I’ve written, and stop. For now.

BUT FIRST. I nearly forgot.

My current/today’s writing project is the second of a series of essays about Christopher Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.”

Good grief, that’s a long title. No wonder most folks these days call it “Faustus.” Or, like me, possibly because I’m on the wordy side, “Dr. Faustus.”

My working title for the next ‘Faustus’ essay is “Dr. Faustus: World’s. Worst. Negotiator.”

Enough! Here’s that inevitable link list:

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Sunshine, Snow, and Inauguration Day Looming

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

Webcam: Sauk Centre MNIt’s a sunny Tuesday afternoon here in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

It’s 8°F outside, -13°C.

At that temperature, water is a mineral. Which is normal for this time of year here in central Minnesota.

The sun is setting, which again is normal for this time of place, day and year.

That picture is from my webcam: “Webcam: Sauk Centre MN.” It’s not, admittedly, the most dramatic or catchy title ever. But it’s descriptive and accurate. It’s also working more often than not these days. The webcam, I mean.

And my news feed is clogged with headlines about today’s American president, and the chap who will become president tomorrow. Which may or may not be normal. But it’s pretty much what I expected.

On the other hand, I’m not sure what I expect in headline news after the inauguration.

Coming Attractions — Detractions — Headlines — Whatever

'TDNN Totally Depressing News Network: What's Wrong With the World.I figure that American news media hasn’t finished ringing the changes on how they see the chap who’s currently president.

That may or may not last for another few weeks, months or — I hope not — years.

As for the person who’s stuck with being America’s president after the inauguration, I strongly suspect that we’ll see mostly good news. I could be wrong about that.

A less diligently gloomy tone would be a nice change of pace.

On the other hand, I remember a time when American news services rejoiced in the excellence of our new president.

That was unsettling. And, like pretty much everything else, it passed.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the next year.

Which will, I predict, be just like last year. Except for how it’s different.

More and less related posts:

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